


Justice for Loki

by Scotchkiss



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt, Post-Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25053367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scotchkiss/pseuds/Scotchkiss
Summary: Odin wanted to protect his realm at Loki's expense.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Justice for Loki

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a little fic I wrote a couple of days ago when I couldn't get it out of my head. Set at the end of The Avengers (2012). 
> 
> Warning: depiction of illness, injuries, and despair

Consciousness returned slowly to him. He moaned, not moving, not able to move. A few seconds passed, and he became more aware of his surroundings, although he still had not opened his eyes. Once he did, he was able to move a shaky hand to the back of his head. It was bloody when he removed it. 

His head ached. His entire body ached. His ankle felt like it was on fire. Slowly he realized he was not alone. He turned his head slightly to the right and gasped. There were beings beside him; they looked angry, and they all had weapons pointed at him. He tried to move away, but he realized he was in a crater of sorts that kept him from moving more than an inch or two. 

He was much more conscious now, although he had no idea where he was, who these beings were, or what had happened. 

“Loki!”

He knew that voice. He turned more to the right and saw his brother. 

He smiled slightly, moving to half sit up/half turn toward the voice, raising up a bit on his elbow.

“Thor! Brother! How did you find me? Where are we? What realm is this? What has happened?”

Thor didn’t respond. Instead, he scowled. Loki’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Brother?” he asked. “What is wrong? Who are these people?” 

“Do not pretend with me, Loki,” Thor bellowed. “I know all your tricks, and I will not fall victim to your falsehoods again.”

“Brother?” Loki shakily raised up on his left arm. “I do not understand. Why are you angry?”

After everything he had been through, falling into the clutches of Thanos, being tortured, mentally and physically, for so long, he didn’t think he could handle this rejection. Instead of being happy to see him, Thor was angry. Tears welled up in Loki’s eyes.

“Brother?” he said again in a tiny voice.

“Well shit!” the being in the red armored suit said, putting down the hand that had been pointed with his palm facing Loki.

“What?” asked the female.

“His eyes,” the armored being said, standing. As he stood his armor disappeared. “They’re green.”

Loki looked at him, puzzled. What difference does his eye color make at a time like this? 

“Thor? Have your brother’s eyes always been green?”

“Aye, like our mother’s.”

“Ah, hell,” said the female, as she stood. “They’re green.”

“What does…” Thor began.

“They’ve been blue since he got here,” the armored man said.

Loki sat and stared, looking back and forth from one to another, completely confused.

“And you think…” Thor started.

“That he was under the influence of the staff? Yeah. Looks like it.”

“Cognitive recalibration,” said the female. “He got knocked out.”

Thor blew out a breath. 

“That makes sense. He was not at all like the brother I grew up with.”

“Thor?” Loki asked again, timidly.

“Loki,” Thor answered, kneeling beside him. “Why have you tried to conquer Midgard?”

“This is Midgard? Why did you bring me here instead of taking me home?”

“I did not bring you here. You came here yourself.”

“Then you did not rescue me?”

Thor shook his head. 

“You did not even try? You – you left me there? To be tortured?”

“Oh, Loki. We could not find you. We looked, but you were hidden from us. We thought you had perished in the fall.”

Loki sat in the crater that his body had made when the Hulk had repeatedly smashed into the floor. He was distraught. No one tried to save him. 

“Come. Can you stand?” 

Thor offered a hand to him. Loki nodded weakly, still lost in thought. He took Thor’s hand, stood, and nearly toppled back to the ground in pain. His ankle was shattered. Thor caught him, swooped him up in his arms, and deposited him on one of the white couches in the room.

“Hey! No blood on the couches.”

“Sorry, Man of Iron, but my brother needs to be tended.”

“Yeah, alright. It’s not like the entire building isn’t an entire wreck already. What’s a little alien blood?”

The female brought a wet cloth to Thor.

“I thank you, Lady Widow.” 

Thor pressed it to the back of his brother’s head. Loki hissed in pain. 

“How have I come to be in Midgard?”

“You arrived through a portal. To steal the Tesseract.”

“What’s the Tesseract,” Loki asked.

“You do not even…Hold.” Thor stopped, tilting his head to the side, listening.

“Heimdall said father has bid us to come home now.”

“Fury isn’t going to like that,” said the Lady Widow.

“It is not up to Fury,” Thor answered. “My brother needs healing, and he cannot get proper care here.”

“Then you better hurry,” said the Man of Iron. “Fury’s on his way.”

The group walked the brothers up to the rooftop. Thor had his arm around Loki’s waist to keep his brother from stumbling. He put no weight on his broken ankle.

When they reached the roof, Loki stopped, staring at the destruction and mayhem on the ground.

“What has happened here?”

“Truly, brother, you do not remember?” 

Loki shook his head.

“I will explain what I know when you are healed.”

Thor put the Tesseract in a two-handled vessel. He tucked the staff under his arm. 

“Farewell, my brothers-in-arms,” Thor stated. “I will visit you again soon. We will go questing.”

“Wait!” the archer said. 

He approached Loki and stared deeply into his eyes. 

“I thought something weird was up with you,” he admitted to the prince. “I kept getting flashes of torture and pain when I was under your thrall. I know that helpless feeling. I still hate you for it, but I understand it.”

He stepped back from the brothers. Loki looked confusedly at Thor once again. They twisted the handles simultaneously and were whisked back to Asgard.

As soon as their feet touched the remnants of the Bifrost Bridge, Loki stumbled gracelessly to the ground. Immediately, a group of ten Einherjar surrounded him. 

“There is no need,” Thor told them. “Loki was under the influence of another. He was not in charge of his actions.”

The soldiers ignored him, moving to put shackles around Loki’s waist, neck, hands, and ankles.

“Thor?” Loki panicked. “What’s going on? Why are they binding me?”

“I tell you, he is no threat. Release him at once!” Thor yelled.

“Our orders are to restrain him and take him straight to the Allfather,” one of the soldiers replied.

“But this is unnecessary.”

“We have our orders.” 

“Thor?” Loki pleaded.

“Worry not, brother. We will straighten this out. Father will be happy to see you and will release you soon.”

The Einherjar would not allow Thor to walk next to his brother to aid him. He had to walk behind the soldiers, watching Loki limp painfully the entire length of the Bridge.

Since it was the middle of the night, there was no one around to witness Loki’s humiliating walk of shame. Thor was grateful his brother was spared that indignity. 

When they reached the doors to the throne room, the Einherjar took Loki on in, but Thor was barred from entering by the others standing guard.

“We have been ordered to escort you back to your rooms, Prince Thor,” one of them said.

“Nay. I need to be with my brother,” he said, trying to push passed the guards.

“I am sorry, my prince, but we have our orders. We must take you to your rooms.”

Thor sighed in frustration. He relented and allowed himself to be taken to his apartment. This didn’t make sense. He had a bad feeling.

Inside the throne room, Odin sat stoically on his throne. Frigga was on his right.

“Loki!” said shouted. 

She ran down the stairs, delighted to see her son once more.

“Mother!” 

Loki tried to limp toward her, but he was held back by the guards.

“Mother, what has happened? Why am I chained like a criminal?”

“Silence!” Odin shouted, slamming Gungnir to the floor. “I will speak to the prisoner alone.”

“Prisoner? Mother?” His voice was shaky.

She touched his face as tears ran down her own. She turned, head bowed, and left.

“Mother?” he cried after her.

He turned his attention to Odin.

“Father? What is happening?”

“Muzzle him,” the king ordered.

The Einherjar did as ordered, snapping a muzzle around Loki’s mouth. He started breathing heavily, fear shone in his eyes.

“At the behest of my Queen, I will not sentence you to death. Instead, I sentence you to life in prison for your crimes against Midgard,” Odin proclaimed. “You will have no visitors for the rest of your life. Perhaps this will give you time to contemplate your crimes and think about where your life went wrong. Take him away.”

Loki screamed through his muzzle. Tears flowed readily down his face. As the Einherjar pulled him away, he kept shouting to his father, begging to be heard. 

<><><>

They arrived at the prison, deep underground away from the palace. By now, Loki could barely stand on his broken ankle. He kept trying to stop to catch his breath, but the Einherjar allowed him no respite. They removed his shackles while keeping their spears aimed closely at him. They turned him, and lightly pushed him into the cell, and closed the door.

He had to remove the muzzle himself.

“Please, tell me what I have done. I do not understand,” he cried. “Please. Please!”

He slid down the wall. There wasn’t a part of him that didn’t hurt. He laid on the hard dirty floor and cried himself to sleep.

<><><>

Gossip quickly spread throughout the kingdom. The Asgardians knew the youngest prince had returned in chains after being presumed dead. No one had seen the queen or other prince since then. Odin, they had heard, was in a spectacularly foul mood. The people had no answers; conjecture was widespread. When would they find out what had happened to Loki?

<><><>

Time passed too slowly underground. Lights in the cells stayed on around the clock. 

Loki thought and thought, but still he could not remember how he had gotten from the Sanctuary to Midgard. His ankle was swollen and hot; it was bright red, and he couldn’t put any weight on it. It had not yet begun to heal. Neither had his head from when he had been knocked unconscious on Midgard. Neither, too, had any of his other injuries that he had sustained at the hands of Thanos and his children. 

His seidr should have healed him by now. Even in the face of non-stop torture, his seidr healed him, although the longer the torture went on, the longer it took to heal. Now though, his body was one mass of pain. Breathing had become difficult. Broken ribs, he suspected, but he didn’t know if they had been broken on the Sanctuary or on Midgard. Not that it mattered, he supposed. He was going to die in this small, brightly lit cell not knowing why.

He was despondent. He didn’t eat or drink. It hurt to move, so why bother? Soon fever set in. He developed a deep, wet cough. He began sleeping more and more. 

Finally, Geld, the head prison guard, could take no more. He went to see the king.

<><><>

“Why are you here?” Odin asked sharply. He knew exactly who Geld was.

“My king, I am here to tell you news of your son. He is ill and…”

“Get out!” Odin ordered.

Geld was stunned. The Allfather didn’t even want to hear about his own son? 

He persevered. “Prince Loki has fallen ill and needs a healer.”

“Did you not hear me?” Odin snarled.

“I did, my king, but your son is dying.”

“Guards! Remove this man!” Odin shouted.

Geld lost his temper. 

“Your son is dying! Why do you not care?” he shouted back.

“You dare question me?” the king roared. “Take him to his prison, and lock him in his own cell.” 

The two Einherjar looked stunned. 

“NOW!”

They did as they were told, taking Geld down to the prison.

<><><>

News of Prince Loki spread quickly. The prince was dying, and no one had seen or heard from Queen Frigga and Prince Thor for several days. They wanted answers.

The next morning Odin was holding court, hearing petitions. Everyone was afraid to draw the wrath of the king’s new fiery temper. 

Finally, one man stepped forward. It was General Tyr, Asgard’s most decorated soldier and long-time friend to the king.

“Allfather,” he stated as he approached the throne. “The citizens of Asgard want to know what has happened to Queen Frigga and Princes Thor and Loki.”

Odin glared, nostrils flaring.

“We have heard Prince Loki is dying in prison, yet you refuse him treatment. We want to know why.”

“It is a family matter, not deserving of your attention,” the Allfather snarled.

“Loki is a prince of Asgard. We deserve…”

“You deserve nothing! Everyone out. Leave my sight!”

Odin was so furious he was shaking. How dare they question his authority?

The court quickly emptied for fear of drawing Odin’s wrath. However, a small group of elders stayed.

“Did you not hear? I said out!”

“We heard you, Allfather,” said one of the men. “But as the Council, we demand answers.”

“You demand?”

“Indeed,” the man answered. “We have a right to know what has happened to our Queen and our Princes.” 

“King Odin,” said another man, stepping forward. “Why is Prince Loki imprisoned? He did not have a trial. That is unheard of. Everyone deserves a trail, most especially a Prince of Asgard. What is his crime?”

“The slaughter of innocents on another realm.” 

They were stunned. Loki had never sought battle like his brother. Loki was the calmer brother.

“How did this happen?” an older woman questioned. “Prince Loki fell from the Bifrost Bridge, and then he is suddenly killing people on…what realm?”

“Midgard.”

“He suddenly appears on Midgard, killing people, and you did not think the Council needed to know?” she asked indignantly.

“He tried to rule them as their king. Subjugate them. Massacre them. That is all you need to know.”

“No, King Odin,” the eldest man spoke. “It is not all we need to know. We need to where he has been; why he did this; how he got from wherever he has been to Midgard; what convinced him this was the thing to do. We want answers. As Council members, we will get them. Bring Prince Loki before us.”

“You will not like what he has become,” Odin warned. “I was trying to spare the realm the travesty of a prince fallen so low.”

Outside the throne room, a chant started. It became louder and louder. The people were repeating, “Loki. Loki. Loki.” They were demanding answers, too.

“The people have left you no choice. Bring Prince Loki before us now.”

Odin snarled to the nearest Einherjar, “Bring him to the Council Chamber!”

<><><>

The members of the Council waited impatiently for the youngest prince to arrive. They could not fathom why he would try to conquer a realm, much less a lowly realm like Midgard. There had to be more to it.

The doors to the chamber opened, and they collectively gasped. Loki was brought in, unconscious, on a stretcher. He was feverish and sweating. He wheezed with each breath, struggling to take in air. He looked very near death.

“This will not stand!” one of the elders shouted. “Take him to the healing hall at once!”

<><><>

“I do not understand,” the head healer, Lady Eir, began. “His seidr should have at least partially healed him by now. But even the healing stones are not helping. He is dying.”

Two of the Council members stayed in the healing room with promises to inform the rest of the members what transpired.

“Why is his seidr not working?” Taft, the eldest man, asked.

“It has been blocked. I know not how or why. I cannot undo it.”

“Can you determine who cast the block?” Calendra, one of the female council members, asked.

“I cannot. But I can guess. It has to have been Odin. Loki was not in this terrible state when he was brought in, according to the guards. That means he had some amount of healing before he was put in the prison.”

“We will see that Odin removes the block.”

“Do it quickly. Loki does not have much time.”

<><><>

Taft and Calendra marched to Odin’s study, furious at what had happened to the prince. Incensed that they had been kept in the dark. Stunned that the king would do something so horrific to his son. They entered without knocking.

“You dare?” Odin started.

“We do!” Calendra answered. “You are killing a prince of Asgard. Not even a king has the right to do that without Council approval. You will release the seidr block you placed on him at once.”

“You do not know what he has become. This will not end well for this realm. For any realm. Loki has become a danger.”

“You have become a danger!” Taft barked. “This is not how we do things in Asgard. We have laws. Laws that prevent even a king from murdering. We do not know what has made you so angry with your son, but we will not stand idly by and allow you to kill him. Release his seidr now.”

Odin sighed. The Council did not know what they were doing. He truly was trying to spare the realm. Loki had become an angry, unrecognizable thing. Odin had watched from Hlidskjalf, watched as his son raved and murdered. He was unrepentant. He was truly insane. Sickened, Odin could watch no more once he saw Loki surrounded by Midgard’s warriors. 

He could tell the Council would not back down. He had no choice but to release Loki’s seidr. He followed them to the healing hall. 

He took a look at his son and gasped. He had not expected Loki to look so frail. So sickly. So near death. He thought he could make the tough decision to end his son’s life for the good of the realm. But seeing him like this gave him pause.

He tapped Gungnir lightly on the ground. Loki faintly glowed with a pale green of seidr. The block had been released.

What had he done?

<><><>

Slowly, very slowly, Loki began to heal. He was kept in a healing coma on a softly padded soul forge. The forge glowed, casting a soft amber hue on the sleeping prince. 

Frigga and Thor were by his side. Odin had ordered them confined to their quarters as soon as Loki had been retrieved. They were not permitted to communicate with anyone, not even servants. The King thought they would be too soft on Loki and would endanger the realm to assist him. 

Odin had been publicly censured. Although the Council could not remove him as king, they could reprimand him. They chose to do it in a public arena so the public would know, not only that their prince lived, but that their king had turned his back on his youngest child. 

Finally, there would be justice for Prince Loki.


End file.
